Believing in Santa part of childhood magic, say WA academics

At home with Santa

VideoWay up in the Arctic Circle, near the town of Rovaniemi, there's an amusement park with all the trappings of Christmas. DW heads north to meet Santa in his very own village.

Parents should not feel guilty about encouraging their children’s belief in the existence of Father Christmas, according to WA academics.

Recent debate overseas has focused on concerns that parents could erode their children’s trust by lying to them about Santa.

University of WA primary teaching program co-ordinator Grace Oakley said some of the debate seemed to have been fuelled by an article in a psychiatry journal. She said some academics who had written about the issue claimed they had been deeply disappointed when they discovered Santa was not real.

Many children who had worked out for themselves there was no Santa played along just because they liked it.

“It’s part of the magic of being a child,” she said.

Associate Professor Oakley said trainee teachers wondering what to say to students who asked if Santa was real were advised to tell them to ask their parents.

“A lot of parents would not be happy if a teacher said there’s no Santa Claus to their child,” she said. “That’s not a teacher’s job to dispel the myth.”

But she did not believe parents should use the myth as a device to control behaviour. “There are better ways of parenting than just saying Santa won’t come if you’re not good,” she said.

Telethon Kids Institute mental health researcher and psychologist Monique Robinson said perpetuating the Santa myth was not the same as lying.

“It’s story-telling rather than lying,” she said.

Dr Robinson said the story had a big cultural presence and promoted positive themes such as rewarding good behaviour and secretly giving to others.

“In this day and age, with modern technology, we’re not sitting around sharing stories perhaps the way we used to,” she said. “Maybe this is one of those enduring traditions that does last.”

“Because really, in a world that can have a lot of ups and downs, it’s a real symbol of goodness, happiness, giving and thinking of others.”

Studies showed that children distinguished between fantasy and reality by about the age of three or four.

“It’s a bit of a paradox that even though they know Santa is not coming down the chimney, they’re choosing to go along with it,” she said.

Dr Robinson said when children asked if Santa was real, parents should use their knowledge of their child to decide whether to answer in an open-ended way, such as asking how they thought the presents arrived, or when to tell them the truth.

Each child was different, but many were ready for that talk when aged about seven or eight.

“Once they’re older, talk about the themes around Santa, because we want to promote that it’s a time of year for giving, for recognising that you’ve been a good person,” she said.

Edith Cowan University education lecturer and former school psychologist Mandie Shean said though she did not believe parents should tell children Santa was not real just because it was a fact, they should tell the truth if asked directly.

“Be parents that children can trust,” she said. “People get concerned that you ruin the magic of Christmas if you tell children the truth. However, the real ‘magic’ of Christmas is not believing in fake Santa but in gratitude, time with family and showing love to each other.”

Melissa Hutton, who took her daughters, Madison, 8, and Alliyah, 5, to visit Santa at Karrinyup shopping centre this week, said they still believed.